Ch.29Regular Meeting of the Gods (2)

A bright light filled the space.

It was so bright that an ordinary person would barely be able to open their eyes in this space. A person dressed as a Host clapped their hands.

Clap clap-

As the sound of his clapping echoed, the blindingly bright place gradually darkened until it adjusted to a moderate brightness.

And then monsters began to enter. Some had lion heads with human bodies, others had octopus legs with only human faces, and some were just bizarre lumps of flesh.

These monsters gradually filled the space, and though there were still some empty spots scattered about, many had come to visit this place.

“Well everyone! It’s finally time for our second session! I don’t know how you’ve all been doing? Personally, I’ve been enjoying life lately because there are so many interesting characters!”

At those words, some monsters shouted in agreement, while others expressed disappointment that it hadn’t lived up to their expectations.

Even though 40 people had died in the short span of 5 years, leaving 60 remaining, those who hadn’t found what they wanted kept their eyes peeled, hoping to find it here.

“Hahaha! If you couldn’t find participants to your liking, it’s not a bad idea to look for them here! Now then, oh! Today we start with a skeleton! Let’s watch together!”

A screen formed before the monsters’ eyes, and a video began to play.

* * * * *

Dark clouds completely blocked the sunlight, and the ground was ablaze. As if hell itself had manifested, blue flames burned vigorously across the land.

The ground had turned black because of this, and gray ash from burned plants covered the earth.

In a place where no living being seemed to exist, a knight sat casually on a rock, resting a spear against his shoulder as if it were a comfortable space to relax.

The spear, perhaps crafted by a great blacksmith, had a beautifully crafted spearhead that was meticulously detailed, yet practical—sharp enough to cut just by looking at it.

Additionally, the jet-black armor worn by the spear’s owner looked impenetrable, as if nothing could pierce it.

Around him, blue flames—ghost fires—swirled about, as if waiting to burn something else that might still remain, circling around him.

How many minutes had he been sitting there? The knight, who had been sitting motionless like a statue, finally moved.

“Hah— You sense my coming like a ghost. Today I will finally send you to where the dead belong, nameless Death Knight.”

Someone approached the knight in black armor. In stark contrast to the black armor the knight wore, this newcomer wore pure white armor.

As if blessed by divine grace, the snow-white armor looked like it would repel any evil that tried to approach. The scabbard at his waist was, like his armor, pure white, resembling the scabbard of a holy sword.

Pure white armor and jet-black armor. They had apparently met several times before, as they exchanged words.

—How. Many. Times. Must. I. Say. I. Am. Not. A. Death. Knight. I. Am. A. Doom. Knight. One. Who. Will. Bring. Destruction. To. The. World.

“Ha. What nonsense are you spouting, idiot? There’s no such thing in this world, and even if there were, you’ll die by my hand today. For the sake of the world.”

—That. World. Would. Not. Be. The. World. I. Desire.

“A world desired by a Death Knight who wishes for a paradise of the dead is something no one wants. Not even the monsters who are the filth of this world!”

With those words, he drew his pure white sword from its pure white scabbard, surrounded it with pure white aura, and began attacking the black knight.

His swordsmanship was like a beautiful painting, and his aura emitted a light that seemed capable of purifying anything impure it touched.

However… the black knight also surrounded his spear with an impure aura as dark as the blackest darkness, and began to counter the holy knight.

The clash of sword and spear. The spear thrust three times in an instant to block the holy knight’s approach, while the holy knight used his sword and holy magic to try to break through these attacks.

“Holy Smite!”

A golden, sacred fist shining with holy light drove down a sacred strike toward the Doom Knight.

KWAAANG———!!!

With a thunderous sound, the ground where the Doom Knight stood cracked, but he had defended himself with the ghost fires around him, standing without a scratch.

Taking advantage of this opening, the holy knight approached again, but the Doom Knight swung his spear to block the holy knight’s approach while simultaneously…

—Death. Ray.

A black light was fired from the tip of the spear.

It was a potentially fatal blow to the holy knight who had pulled his body back to avoid the spear…

“Holy Shield!”

A golden shield formed in front of him, blocking the Doom Knight’s Death Ray.

The ray of death ultimately failed to penetrate the sacred shield and disappeared. Behind the shield, a cleric who had been praying rose to his feet.

“Meet your God with a reverent posture, blasphemer! Judgement!”

At the cleric’s declaration, the cloudy sky opened, and divine wrath descended upon the earth.

Aaaaaaah———

With a sound like a choir singing, divine wrath fell to send the dead back to where they belonged.

As the sky opened, sunlight began to shine on the black earth, and the dark ground gradually regained vitality. Plants began to grow where everything had been burned by hellfire.

The revitalized ground turned brown, and sprouts emerged, growing rapidly to restore what had once been a lush forest.

The holy knight thought the Doom Knight, who had taken a direct hit from the light’s judgment that invigorated the living and returned the dead to where they belonged, was finished, but he remained vigilant.

Last time he thought it was over, but the knight had escaped and became a threat even to himself. If he let him escape now, next time he might become an entity that even he couldn’t handle alone.

Eventually, as the divine judgment gradually subsided and the earth regained its original form with plants growing to form dense vegetation…

Whoosh—

Blue flames began to return everything to nothingness again. The ground burned in agony once more, and the plants that had just grown turned to ash and scattered.

Seeing this, the holy knight frowned and charged at the creature, but…

Slash—!

“Kuk…!”

The Doom Knight, wrapped in ghost fire, revealed pitch-black darkness and wounded the holy knight’s arm. When his arm wouldn’t move properly due to the opposing energy…

—Die!

Seeing an opening, the Doom Knight thrust his spear, aiming for the holy knight’s heart.

The holy knight barely avoided the lightning-fast attack by twisting his body, but suffered a serious wound as the spear pierced the lower part of his abdomen.

Stab——!!

“Grrgh—!!”

Even the holy knight, who had trained through ascetic practices, couldn’t bear the pain caused by the opposing energy and let out a pain-filled groan.

To finish off the holy knight, the Doom Knight surrounded his arm with ghost fire and swung it to smash the holy knight’s head.

But… the holy knight disappeared, enveloped in light, as if he had a hidden evasion technique.

To finish off the suddenly vanished knight, the Doom Knight aimed his spear at where he sensed the disgusting energy and concentrated his aura. The aura gradually grew until it enlarged the entire spear.

He threw it in the direction where he felt the disgusting energy.

SWOOOOSH——!!!!

KWAAANG——!!!!!!

A massive explosion occurred, and everything touched by the aura corroded, creating a land of the dead.

He moved to where the spear had struck to confirm the holy knight’s demise, but the holy knight had already escaped, as there was no corpse to be seen.

The Doom Knight pulled his spear from the ground and headed somewhere.

* * *

“Wow! This person is definitely the one who raised their hand first to ask me a question! To think that intelligent-looking woman became such a skeleton, the world is truly unpredictable!”

Some of the monsters looked on with interest. To so easily counter the attack of a holy knight who followed the light god of that world.

While they were watching the life of this Doom Knight over the past 5 years, thinking it might be worth seeing…

“Now! For our second guest of the day! Oh, this time it’s… an animal?! Let’s see what kind of animal it is together!”

The screen that had been showing the black earth changed to a blue sea.

* * * * *

A massive sailing ship cutting through the sea. Whether to cross the ocean safely, the deck was equipped with new magic cannons and the interior was filled with ballistas. It seemed excessive just to block other ships from approaching, but it was still insufficient against the monsters of the deep.

“Captain… Have you heard about the monster that supposedly appears in these waters?”

At that moment, a sailor approached the captain. His terrified expression showed he was on guard, as if expecting an attack at any moment.

“Monster? The monsters that appear here… Kraken? Sea serpent? Or a narwhal? Whatever it is, can’t we handle it with these penetration-enchanted ballistas? And with these new magic cannons, we could destroy it in an instant.”

“They say it’s not that kind of monster. It’s… supposedly twice as large as a kraken. It resembles a stingray but has three tails. It normally moves like a whale with its wings folded, but when it spreads its wings, it casts a shadow that covers the sea.”

“Hmm… Where did you hear this rumor? I didn’t hear anything like that when I was researching this route.”

“It was two days ago when we stopped at the village for supplies. I heard people talking about it in the village tavern. They said a giant stingray, as massive as a dragon, sank a ship in an instant.”

The captain pondered this information. This route would allow them to meet the navy of the maritime kingdom of Palais as quickly as possible. If they could meet them, they could arrive safely.

He had only heard stories from those who had drifted ashore after shipwrecks caused by sea monsters, but apparently Palais was a considerable maritime power. If he could trade with them, he could bring great wealth to his homeland.

But… losing this ship would be a huge loss. Building this sailing ship had cost an astronomical amount, and the new magic cannons on board were also extremely expensive. Plus, the ship was carrying materials to install teleport gates.

After careful consideration, the captain decided he couldn’t risk losing the ship and ordered it to turn around. It would be good to arrive quickly, but if such a massive monster existed, they should take a safer route.

As the helmsman turned the ship and the navigator went to find the captain…

Slither——

A massive shadow appeared beneath the ship.

The shadow, larger than the ship itself, began to move stealthily and grew larger until…

Splash!

A giant tail emerged from the stern of the ship.

“AAAAARGH!!!”

“S-Save… me…!”

Many sailors were pierced by the tail that instantly took over the deck and disappeared into the sea.

“Mages! Monster!”

With the captain’s cry, there was a commotion, and after a brief moment, the mages appeared.

“Lightning, worthy to be called divine judgment, let your power manifest in my hands to defeat my enemies! Thunder Calling!”

“Raging lightning, let your powerful, frenzied might be tasted by the enemy before me! Lightning Strike!”

Two lightning spells: 5th Circle Thunder Calling and 6th Circle Lightning Strike. The electric magic struck the sea instantly, emitting tremendous light.

RUMBLE!!!!

Crackle…

The massive current swirled through the sea, causing nearby fish to float to the surface. But the three-tailed monster still hadn’t shown itself… Then, a mage who had been chanting longer than the other two finally cast his spell.

“Bestow divine wrath upon the enemy before me! Giga Lightning Strike!”

7th Circle magic, Giga Lightning Strike. The powerful lightning emitted an even stronger light than the previous two spells, illuminating everything before them.

BOOM————!!!!!

The 7th Circle magic struck directly, and the tremendous light made it possible to see clearly into the depths of the sea. And what they saw there was…

Flash—

The eyes of a giant stingray. Its yellow pupils were clearly visible in the sea, staring at them.

“EEEEK——!!!”

And then, it charged.

KWAAANG———!!!

The massive creature, apparently tired of piercing them with its tail, split the ship in two with a single charge, and the ship began to sink.

“AAAAARGH! Save…”

“KYAAAAA!”

“I can’t die in a place like…”

Various last words filled the air as the stingray leisurely swam around, piercing the floating humans one by one with its tail.

“Ha… haha, this is a dream…”

The captain lost his mind at the reality of sinking without even firing the special magic cannon once. And the last thing he saw in his life was the inside of the giant ray’s mouth.

All that remained floating in the sea were the remnants of the sailing ship that his homeland had spent an astronomical amount to build…

* * * * *

“Hahaha! It’s been a while since I’ve seen humans die like that! Honestly, I didn’t think that stingray would survive this long, but it’s good to see it growing so healthily!”

Having watched the video, the Host spoke cheerfully, clapping his hands in delight as if he had just seen his own child grow up.

The other gods seemed satisfied as well, turning off the screen and savoring what they had just witnessed.

“Well then… I was about to conclude today’s meeting…”

At that moment, one god sent him some information.

“Oh my, my, my, my! The God of the Moon and Madness has joined our gathering after such a long time! It seems you’ve come without revealing yourself, but it’s been so long! Let me see what you’ve sent me!?”

Delighted by the appearance of a god who hadn’t visited in a long time, he checked what had been sent to him.

!

With an expression as if an exclamation mark had appeared above his head, he announced this news loudly to everyone at the gathering.

“Right now! Wrath and Envy have been born! I didn’t expect these two traits to manifest after only 5 years! Wow, I’ll now reveal the individuals who will manifest these traits!”

A massive screen appeared behind the Host.

A Minotaur and a skeleton with a perfectly intact blonde face appeared on the screen.